Bucura Dumbravă

Bucura Dumbravă, pen name of Ștefania "Fanny" Szekulics, Szekulicz or Seculici (December 28, 1868 – January 26, 1926), was a Hungarian-born Romanian genre novelist, cultural promoter, hiker and Theosophist. Her literary work, mainly written in German, covers romantic stories about the legendary feats of hajduk heroes. They brought her commercial success in both German-speaking Europe and Romania, and were prefaced by Queen-consort Elisabeth of Wied.

Dumbravă promoted many causes, and was involved with several cultural projects, but is mainly remembered for her activity in promoting tourism and environmentalism in Romania. She was an avid traveler and mountaineer, who established some of the country's first hiking clubs. Her travel writing remains a standard in Romanian literature, even though her fiction work is generally forgotten.

Throughout most of her career, Szekulics promoted the inclusion of women in the Romanian Freemasonry. In old age, her essays came to focus on Spiritualist subjects, and, as disciple of Jiddu Krishnamurti, set up the Romanian lodge of the Theosophical Society. She died on her return trip from the British Raj, having attended the Theosophical Conference in Adyar. Provided by Wikipedia